Improvement in sleigh-velocipedes



Patented May 16, 187|.

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WILLlAM ERD. Improvement in Sleigh-Velocipedes.

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duidt ne/t" Letters Patent No. 114,783, dated May 16, 1871; antedated May 2, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT I'N SLElGH-VELOCIPEDES.

The'Schedule referred 'to in these Letters Patent and making partei the same.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM ERD, of New Ulm, in the county of Brown and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Sleigh- Velocipedes; and I do hereby declare lowing isa full, clear, and' exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing making a part or this specification, and tothe letters and gures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawing is a bottom view of my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinalvertical section through the wheel of the same. Y

My invention has relation to means for propelling sleighs upon ice; and 4 1t consists in the construction and novel arrangement of driving-wheels, and in the manner of operating the same by means of levers arranged like those of a childs velocipede.

'.lhe letter A of the drawing designates a sleigh constructed in any of the usual forms.

B B are the runners thereof.

C C are the driving-wheels.

D4 represents the axle `secured to the rear portion of the sleigh under the body thereof.

This axle is adjustable, and capable ofv being fixed at any desired height by means of set-screws working against sliding bars projecting upwardfrom the axle, and inserted in suitable sockets in the standards, which dcscend from the rear' portion of the body of the sleig 'lhe spikes are wedge-shaped, and extend transversetjr-across the tire. They are so arranged that they that the folwill strike the ice with an edge which is nearly as -long as the width of `the tire, and are very effective when shaped in this manner, the ice not being chipped or broken out by the stroke.

E E represent srecesses formed on eachside of the box which composes the seat, and designed for the reception of the upper portion of the driving-wheels, which are usually of large size.

Each wheel is provided with spikes d d, projecting radially from itscircumference or tire, and designed to strike into the ice when the wheels are rotated.

F F represent suitable hand-levers pivoted tothe sides of the sleigh, and connected to the wheels by the lconnecting-rods z z eccentrically, in the manner -of a childs velocipede.

By means of the hand-levers the occupant of the sleigh can easily rotate the driving-wheels, thereby striking the spikes into.. the ice and propelling the sleigh forward. l

What I claim as my invention, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with a sleigh having the recesses E E for the reception of the upper portions of the wheels, and the levers F F, the adjustable axle D, an'd the driving-wheels C O provided with the broad wedge- `shaped spikes d d, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses. l

WILLIAM ERD. Witnesses:

WM. S. BAssroRD,

' E. SJJULLEN Cox. 

